automysophobia
- noun
- /ˌɔːtəˌmaɪsəˈfoʊbiə/
- Specialized
:
automisofobia
- People with automysophobia may wash their hands excessively to avoid feeling dirty.
Examples
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She suffers from automysophobia and avoids public places.
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The therapist developed a treatment plan to help him overcome his automysophobia.
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Her automysophobia made it difficult for her to engage in outdoor activities.
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His automysophobia makes it hard for him to relax.
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People with automysophobia often feel anxious when they are in dirty environments.
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Her automysophobia prevents her from enjoying activities like camping or gardening.
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To manage her automysophobia, she frequently cleans her home and avoids touching unclean surfaces.
Synonyms
A very strong fear of dirt and germs
How Fearful
Surface Forms
Morphology
automysophobia = mysophobia (opaque) = auto + myso + phobia
The word is built by adding auto- to the specialized term mysophobia, but that base term and the full meaning are not readily inferable for an average learner.
Etymology
Automysophobia comes from three parts: auto- 'self', myso- 'dirt', and -phobia 'fear'. So, it means a fear of being dirty or of dirt on yourself.